The Story of Subramanyam, Part 4, Podcast #85
April 19, 2009
In this episode, Kashyapa turns over the teaching of his three demon children to his wife Mayai and they soon head off to the Himalayas to perform yagyas on a very grand scale. But Shiva, the object of their devotions, fails to show up and in desperation they start to throw themselves into the yagya fire. After some time, Shiva rescues them and the demons gain great power. Shukracharya, the guru for the demons gives them instructions on what to do next, justifying it with a bit of tricky philosophy. Things are not looking good for the devas!
The chanting for this episode includes the Shiva Tandava Stotram written by Ravana, the demon who steals Sita in the Ramayana, and that is followed by the Brahma Kadinga Padamu, which equates the feet of Vishnu with the power of Brahma the creator.
The Story of Subramanyam, Part 3, Podcast #84
April 10, 2009
The story of Subramanyam continues as he postpones his marriage to Vishnu’s daughters in order to attack Tarakasura. At first it doesn’t go well and his general Veerabhahu is almost defeated and Subramanyam has to taunt Tarakasura into fighting. When he is losing, Taraka enlists the help of the powerful Kounchanagiri who puts up a good fight. But in the end, as one might expect Subramanyam is eventually victorious.
Soorapadhman, Tarakasura’s brother is furious at the loss and prepares for battle, but decides to send out spies first. In the mean time, the narrative continues with some amusing stories, particularly the one about Kashyapa’s seduction so that he can father hundreds of thousands of asuras.